


Not the One You Were Expecting

by parttimefemmefatale (writingramblr)



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005), Doctor Who: Eighth Doctor Adventures - Various Authors
Genre: Alternate Canon, Alternate Universe, Episode Fix-it: s02e04 The Girl in the Fireplace, F/M, Mild Language, Post-Episode: s02e04 The Girl in the Fireplace, i hate this episode so i had to write this, the Doctor deserved a punch
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-17
Updated: 2014-09-17
Packaged: 2018-02-17 17:30:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2317574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writingramblr/pseuds/parttimefemmefatale
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"The Tenth Doctor leaves Rose, Mickey, and the TARDIS behind in order to save Madame de Pompadour and finds himself stranded with no way back. One of his younger selves arrives at the right place and time, and agrees to travel to 18th century France and pick his sorry ass up."</p><p>above summary from this post (and aeonish is a lovely person who adores eight/rose more than words can say. this is all her fault :)<br/>http://aeonish.tumblr.com/post/91077556883/</p>
            </blockquote>





	Not the One You Were Expecting

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote a little thing for this gifset post and then today i decided to expand it. i hope you all like it.  
> there's no serious Reinette bashing, bc for being moffat's and all, i really can't hate her. but i hate the writing of the episode and the characterizations of our beloved Ten/Rose.  
> boo moffat. you stink.
> 
>  
> 
> my original short thing :
> 
> http://timeladyspacepirateutteroutcast.tumblr.com/post/93172309915/

Rose stared at the wall where the mirror had been. Now there were jagged edges of glass leading to a room of the ship. What might have been a storage room was all she could see.

The aching in her chest wasn’t from hunger.

The fact she’d been nearly 24 hours without sleep didn’t explain the fact that she wasn’t imagining it.

The Doctor had left her.

He’d left them, both her and Mickey.

All for what?

For one pretty woman, who had called Rose a child.

 _Maybe she was a child_. Could no one but children feel as scared, and alone or as lost as she did in that moment?

"He’ll be back in five seconds. Just you wait."

Mickey had been extremely chipper and attempted to make light of the whole thing.

"That pretty French bird turns every man’s head it looks like. Don’t worry. He’s coming."

"Yeah. But what if he’s not? What if he’s gone for good?"

Mickey glanced back at the blue police box a few yards behind them and shrugged.

"Could be worse. Could be abandoned on some moon somewhere. Or a crashing spaceship with no escape."

Rose laughed, and even to her ears it sounded wrong,

"What happens when this place runs down, just stops? No oxygen, no artificial gravity, not to mention no food or water! This isn’t an ideal place to be."

In her semi-frantic state, she knew she was neglecting the TARDIS. It had all they could need and more.

But Rose dreaded the idea of stepping back inside it without the Doctor. It seemed so utterly wrong.

So hopeless.

The sound of the TARDIS engines caught her attention and broke through the fog of panic inside her mind and she and Mickey both turned to look at the blue box.

It was perfectly still and quiet, so where was the noise coming from?

The familiar grinding sound of the machine ripping through the time vortex as it landed caused them both to spin around, and Rose gasped at the sight of a second TARDIS, but before she could run towards it, the doors swung inward, and a man came striding out.

The lights flickered in the spaceship and the man winced, pulling out a silver pen with a glowing red tip and aiming it at the general direction of the ceiling.

Rose frowned at the man,

“What’s that then? Who are you and how’d you fly the Doctors TARDIS? How’d you get another one?”

The man smiled sheepishly and ducked his head before hurrying over to her and Mickey’s side.

"Forgive me. I’m the Doctor, but judging by your expressions… not the one you expected. Nice to see the TARDIS looks the same though."

He glanced behind them briefly with a fond look on his face, before returning his attention to them.

"Now, please, come quickly, we’ve not a moment to lose. It’s bad enough having two of the same TARDIS in the same place, I’d hate to run into my older self."

Rose blinked at him, still processing the fact that this man with short chestnut curls and a classically handsome face was her Doctor.

The Doctor.

A younger incarnation? Certainly different.

Mickey spoke first,

"Your other self? He’s not here. Can’t you sense that? He went and got himself stuck in 18th century France to keep clockwork robots from killing the aristocrats. Will you take us there? Will you, would you take us to you? Won’t that mean two trips? There and back? Either way you’ll meet yourself and the TARDIS might not want to land beside herself again."

Rose turned to Mickey, and felt a strange sense of pride well up inside her at his logical train of thought.

The Doctor it seemed, at least in this form, age, or whatever, more inclined to listen to Mickey’s opinions.

"Good point. So what should we do?"

Rose finally found her voice.

"So you’re the Doctor yeah? Here’s a thought, why don’t you get it in your head that I’m not okay with you going off and snogging some French bint and saving her life, abandoning us all in the name of saving history. Or you could just reach us to fly the TARDIS so we could find your sorry arse in France."

The Doctor looked slightly stunned, but then he blinked and smiled at her.

"That is a fascinating idea, but if I did that first thing, I wouldn’t have done what I will do, I couldn’t be here, and I wouldn’t have met you. I couldn’t have that. Tricky thing, paradoxes."

The Doctor could sense this lovely blonde girl was important to him, but what he couldn’t fathom was why he’d left her side. Even now, without a hard look at her timelines, he could feel how important she had been to him, would be for him, and still was.

Rose didn’t know for certain what he was trying to say, besides the fact he just admitted he was glad to meet her here and now, and that he wouldn’t meddle with his own memories. She knew enough about paradoxes, from the travels with her first Doctor to know they were not to be meddled with.

She swallowed,

"But you will teach us to fly your ship?"

Mickey remained silent, and the Doctor nodded,

"Of course. All of my companions should be able to fly the TARDIS in an emergency. Did I never teach you anything?"

Rose and Mickey both shook their heads, and the Doctor tisked to himself.

"What sort of man have I become? No wait. Don’t answer that."

Rose bit her lip to keep from grinning at that. She was starting to like this incarnation of the Doctor, but she couldn’t help but wonder where he was, in relation to the first face she knew, the first man she’d met.

He only watched her for a moment before glancing at Mickey, and reaching for her hand,

"Come now, into the TARDIS, we’ve got lots to do and not nearly long enough to do it!"

Mickey followed them into the second blue box and tried not to glower at the Doctors back. Rose actually looked a bit cheered up, just from holding the alien blokes hand.

And it wasn’t even her bloke! Yet. Oy that was going to make his head hurt. But why did he bother even dreaming of competing with someone like that?

“Wait a minute. Shouldn’t someone stay with this TARDIS? What if it decides to take off and try and find you…him…by itself?”

The Doctor looked out the front doors past the flickering lights of the spaceship and over to his older ship, and nodded to Mickey.

“You’re right. She is a wonderful machine, and I can feel how much she misses me. Be best if you were with her. Rose can teach you later once I teach her how to fly her.”

Mickey’s head still hurt, but he was glad to hear the Doctor agree with him.

It wasn’t until he was inside the newest Doctor’s TARDIS that he realized the younger one had used Rose’s name, but how? They’d not introduced themselves yet!  
***

Rose walked around the younger Doctor’s console room, taking in the sight of the roaring fireplace and the blue and gold tinted décor, as the Doctor started up the engines.

“Where are we heading for again?”

Rose’s head whipped around to meet his curious gaze and coughed, finding her voice,

“18th Century France.”

The Doctor nodded and began to twirl knobs and push levers, as Rose slowly stepped closer to the console.

The interior was beautiful, and something straight out of a Victorian novel. It made her wonder what had happened to make things change into the coral struts and metal gratings.

“Are you traveling alone Doctor?”

Rose piped up, as she crossed over the room, and the Doctor glanced away from the view screen he was studying to meet her gaze,

“Yes. I have been for a while now. But it’s lucky really that I happened to be in this area of space. I was on my way home.”

Rose swallowed and fought the urge to look away from him, she knew her other Doctor never spoke of home, it was too painful. But this Doctor, he’d not yet lost his world, lost his people, fought in a war, and become the man she’d once known.

He really was stunningly handsome when she looked at him. His green eyes seemed to laugh at her, and she realized she’d not spoken, and he’d asked her a question.

“Sorry?”

“I said, has my older self taken you to Gallifrey yet? Surely he’s told you about it?”

She tried not to wince, to give away the little fib she was prepared to make,

“I’ve only been with him for a few weeks…” In that form, “So may he’s been about to, and we just keep getting distracted.”

For some reason, that phrasing made her blush, and in reaction, so did he.

“I suppose I’m a bit of a showoff now am I?”

“I guess you are yeah.”

The Doctor ducked his head, and his hands might have shaken before taking a firm hold on the console again,

“I’m sorry for that then. It’s clear that you have strong feelings for me, and I’ve been terribly rude to you. Abandoning you and…”

“Mickey.” Rose supplied helpfully, and then she felt her heart skip a beat, realizing what he’d said.

“Am I that obvious? If it’s so easy to see, why can’t you, why haven’t you…”

She broke off, feeling her eyes betraying her, stinging with tears, and she turned away from him. She couldn’t bear for him to see her like this.

The calming tones of the TARDIS as she flew them to their destination filled her ears, and she started at the feeling of a hand on her shoulder.

She looked up to find the Doctor right beside her, his face cautious but calm,

“If I’ve ever hurt you before this day, I am truly sorry. You don’t deserve that. I don’t have to look at your timeline to see how important you are to me. If I haven’t been able to see that, with you, or I did, and I still left, then I’m not worthy of you or your feelings for me.”

Rose didn’t think for a moment before flinging herself into his arms, and she was scared to death he’d insist she shouldn’t, when she felt his arms circle her, and pull her closer.

Her head fit into where his neck met his shoulders, and she stood in his embrace for a probable eternity, crying until she had nothing left.

***

The striking blonde girl whom he’d swept up into his ship, intent on simply returning to his older self was beginning to make him feel such strange and foreign things. For all he knew, the incarnation she’d grown to care for was perfectly allowed to love her back. Gallifrey had strict conventions about relationships with humans, but in a century, or two, they might even soften.

But there was something about the way she clung to him, with such pure need and desperation, it made him wonder why she’d not heard of Gallifrey from him or even seen it with him.

“Sweet precious girl, you’re safe with me. I promise.”

The words came out almost unconsciously, and he whispered them into her wavy golden hair as he gently stroked the back of her head, holding her to him until he felt her stop shaking, and he slowly pulled back.

Her face was streaked with tears, and her bottom lip wobbled, but she looked as if she’d had a huge weight lifted from her.

“What’s your name?”

She licked her lips, and her eyes studied him,

“Rose.”

“Tell me Rose, have I ever told you how beautiful you are?”

She looked as if she wanted to laugh, but she shrugged instead,

“Almost.”

He fought the urge to glower. Oh how he despised his older self for hurting her like this.

“Well I should tell you every day. Then ask myself how I got so lucky.”

Rose smiled gently, and nodded.

“I think that’s a good idea.”

He hugged her close again, before pulling back to check the monitors, a movement which she followed, before speaking,

“Are we there yet?”

Her query was so light and teasing it almost made him wonder if his eyes and ears had played tricks on him, but she was still there, and the evidence of her grief had not faded.

“We should be, yes. Palace of Versailles, 1759, December 31st.”

Rose nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

“Nearly New Years. Perhaps we’ll be invited to a party before we return to the spaceship in the 51st century.”

The Doctor watched her closely, and he saw a hint of a smile, before her face clouded again, with something like worry and frustration. He didn’t blame her. He had half a mind to punch his older self in the jaw when he saw him.

“You’ve been partying enough while you’ve been there I’d imagine.”

The Doctor swallowed, and managed a laugh,

“Very true. But I wonder if one dance might be allowed?”

Rose turned to look at him, and she couldn’t resist.

“Okay.”

“Here we are.”

The TARDIS landed with a groan, and Rose was nearly bounding out the front doors in her semi excited and worried state, but the Doctor’s voice stopped her,

“Wait, it’s December out there. You’ll freeze in that. Please, let me find you something to wear.”

Rose gulped, and nodded.

Of course he was right. There she went again. Leaping after the man, the alien, who’d broken her heart, prepared to run until she found him.

When the Doctor took her hand, and began leading her down the corridor, she was suddenly excited. She loved visiting the wardrobe room, and she couldn’t wait to see what it looked like in this Doctor’s TARDIS.

He stopped right outside an ordinary looking door, before pushing it open.

Rose gasped aloud as she observed all the racks and rows of clothing, and she nearly squealed in delight as she spotted a light pink dress that seemed to have her name all over it.

“That’s for you.”

The Doctor patted the doorframe and the lights blinked almost imperceptively. His TARDIS was extremely fond of this girl, more so than any past companion, and it made him more curious about her.

There was a whisper, a hint of some sort of bond between them, his wonderful time ship and this human. How could that be?

***

The Doctor paused inside the library, and he tuned out what Reinette had been saying. Something had shifted in his memories. Nothing dangerous or out of place, but there was a strange insistent pressure at his temples, like a memory trying to break free.

The tingling of time, the sound of the song of the universe, the TARDIS, was in his mind. Somehow, his TARDIS was near, and so was Rose.

He grinned almost unconsciously and Reinette clapped to get his attention.

“Sorry what?”

“I was asking Doctor, how long you planned to stay with us? And will you not come downstairs? Dance with me, at least once before you retire.”

He looked at her, and saw the pretty curls of her hair, the bow of her lips, and the blue of her eyes, and it was all wrong. How had he ever been so stupid?

Why had he left Rose and Mickey?

Oh right. History, timelines, and the future of mankind.

But was it all worth it?

The small nudging in his mind told him all hope was not yet lost, and he clung to it, to that thought with all his might.

However, it didn’t take long for it to manifest.

A footman entered the room and bowed to Reinette before speaking,

“There are two guests at the party who were not able to produce invitations. They claim they know the Doctor. What are your commands?”

The Doctor’s ears perked up, and Reinette sighed,

“Please, show them into the library, and we will let our Doctor be the judge of their words.”

The footman nodded, and left with another bow.

Reinette came to the Doctor’s side and looked at him, seeming to take her fill of his face and form before speaking again,

“It seems as if you cannot linger. I was foolish to hope you would enjoy the slow path with me, here in France.”

The Doctor smiled,

“Hope is never foolish. But my place is not here. It’s out there. Among the stars. Helping people and seeing the universe.”

Reinette put her hand on his arm, and he met her gaze,

“I cannot fault you for that. I am grateful for the time I’ve had to be with you. My angel. But now I’m all grown up, and I suppose I must become my own protector.”

The Doctor nodded,

“Becoming your own protector is something everyone has to do. Some people learn the hard way, others, the very hard way.”

Before Reinette could question what he meant by that, the two guests entered the room, and the Doctor’s eyes went wide.

Rose was standing before him with a stunning light pink gown on, her hair still in the crinkled waves from when he’d last seen her, and arm in arm with his Eighth self.

“ _What_?”

“’Lo Doctor.”

Rose began softly, and he shook his head.

“What?”

His Eighth self sighed,

“Am I really that thick?”

The Doctor glared at his former self and they had a momentary staring contest before Rose spoke again,

“Doctor. Are you alright?”

He swallowed and nodded.

“Of course I am. I’m always alright.”

He reached up to tug on his tie, but it was already far too loose, and thus provided little distraction. His Eighth incarnation stepped forward, out of Rose’s grasp and moved towards him. He wasn’t afraid to admit he retreated just slightly before catching himself.

“You better not be alright. You abandoned Rose and her friend for what? Some idiotic wish to visit France, to stay in the palace? You could have done it the right way, as a trip, _with_ your companions.”

The Doctor opened his mouth to argue, but the past version of himself closed the distance and swung at him before he could finish a thought.

Rose was hiding her face behind her hands, at least all but her eyes, and she didn’t look as if she planned to help him. Reinette had wisely retreated sometime after the pair had entered the room, and he was glad she’d been so thoughtful.

“I can’t believe that. You just hit me.”

His Eighth self straightened up and brushed a speck of invisible dust from his jacket,

“I did. I hope you remember it, and I hope the next version of us remembers it.”

Rose finally stepped towards him, and without any prompting, held out a hand to help him back to his feet.

He took it gratefully and she had him half way up before she wrenched it from his grasp, leaving him to collapse back onto the carpeted floor.

The ache radiating from his bum to his back was enough to clear his head.

“Rose Tyler! You did that on purpose.”

“Bloody right I did. That’s what it felt like when you jumped through that mirror.”

His Eighth self came up behind her and placed a gentle arm around her shoulders, and she visibly relaxed.

He glowered, jealous that his touch, but not _his_ was helping her like that.

“So am I supposed to sit here all night and beg?”

Rose shrugged,

“That’d be a start.”

His Eighth self sighed and leaned close to her, whispering something he almost didn’t catch.

“ _He’s going to apologize and mean it. Please forgive him._ ”

Rose watched him pointedly, and he coughed, doing as he knew he must.

“I’m so sorry Rose. Truly, I am. I should have found another way. Please forgive me?”

***

Echoing the statement she’d just heard in her ear, Rose’s current Doctor watched her with wide eyes from his position on the floor, one she had to admit made him look quite devastatingly handsome, and she couldn’t hold out any longer.

“Alright. I forgive you, you daft alien wanker.”

Her Doctor got to his feet, slowly and with a bit of mumbling, and his younger self drew her attention by taking her hand in his, and bringing it to his lips, and placing a gentle kiss just inside her palm.

“And I’m afraid I must go now, lovely Rose.”

“Why? Don’t you need to take us back?”

He shook his head with a small smile,

“No. The TARDIS is on her way here, and I must leave before she materializes. As your friend said, it is not wise to have two of the same time ship in one place.”

Rose licked her lips and looked between the two Doctors,

“But what about this? Meeting yourself…er… touching yourself?”

The slight bruise beginning to form that her Doctor rubbed with a wince was evidence of that, and yet Rose still realized how differently her words could be taken.

“These are memories that I can fold away, shut inside a door until the proper time has come to view them again. Manipulating the complex processes of a machine is a much more challenging prospect, one that I am not prepared to conquer. Maybe someday.”

“So you’ll forget me, and all of this?”

The younger Doctor nodded.

Rose pursed her lips, shooting a hesitant glance towards her Doctor, before moving towards the younger one,

“Then you won’t mind if I steal one kiss? I’ve wanted to since ‘Run.’”

The Eighth Doctor looked rather perplexed, but realization bloomed across the Tenth Doctor’s face as Rose stepped in, closed the distance, and pressed her lips to his.

She slowly ran her hands over his jacket, gripping the lapels just tightly enough to ensure he couldn’t quite escape before she’d finished.

He tasted a bit like fresh brewed tea and something spicy, but so familiar, like time itself.

She pulled away first, and found him staring at her in a daze, green eyes almost black from the expansion of his pupils.

“Oh how I wish I could remember this…”

He spoke quietly, but she heard him perfectly, having moved only a few inches away from him. His strong arms still held her, and only the soft grumblings of her Doctor made her leave them.

She moved to stand beside her Doctor and watched his younger self begin to leave,

“Wait!” She called out to him, and he looked round,

“When will the TARDIS be here?”

He smiled,

“As soon as she is called.”

The Doctor frowned at his younger self, who stuck his hand inside a pocket, and withdrew the same silver pen with a red light, and Rose realized it must have been his sonic.

“Press the button, setting 42F.”

Her Doctor frowned,

“How have I never used that?”

The younger Doctor tapped his forehead with the sonic.

Rose understood.

“You had to forget.”

She looked around to say something to the younger Doctor, but he’d gone.

“I’ll remember, in case there’s ever an emergency.”

Her Doctor looked down at her and grimaced.

“I suppose you wouldn’t use it if you wanted to get away from me would you?”

Rose shrugged but remained silent.

He withdrew his sonic, and tuned it to the proper setting, and within seconds, the sound of the TARDIS materializing filled the room.

“Mickey’s inside.” Rose mentioned, and the Doctor grimaced again, but this time she punched him in the arm.

“Don’t be like that. He offered to stay behind and watch over her.”

He turned to look at her, to ask her what it was, why she was so in sync with his ship and the nudging finally stopped, and the new memories rushed in to fill the gaps he hadn’t known had existed.

“Rose…”

She’d already walked into the TARDIS, and he could only follow in a daze.

The way her lips felt against his, how she’d sobbed into his shoulder, in his arms. The hurt that had been so obvious on her face, even when she’d smiled. The anger he’d felt towards himself, and the satisfaction that followed from hitting himself.

All of it was his now.

“Rose.” He tried again, finally inside the ship and prepared to send them into the vortex. Mickey glowered at him from a nearby strut, and Rose watched him carefully from her perch on the jump seat.

He swallowed and looked at Mickey,

“Do you mind? Could I have a moment with Rose…alone?”

“If you try anything stupid, I won’t mind giving you a matching bruise Doctor. I won’t ask where you got the first one. I don’t care if you did it to yourself or if Rose hit you, either way, you deserve it.”

The Doctor nodded, and Mickey finally moved away, slouching down the hall.

Rose sighed, and folded her arms, hugging herself tightly as she leaned against the jump seat.

“What is it?”

The Doctor stepped towards her cautiously, like one might a wounded animal.

“I remember.”

Rose’s eyes widened,

“What?”

“All of it. I didn’t understand at the time, but I know now. I was horrid. I was rude. No excuses. I could see how much you felt back then, and now I still see it. You forgave me. You love me.”

It wasn’t quite a question so much as a plea for assurance. He had to know he was right. She hadn’t stopped loving him, even after all he’d done. He’d seen it.

Rose looked so lost and frightened, he reached for her hand, to give her an anchor, and he sighed in relief when she let him take it.

“Yes.”

His hearts leapt in his chest, and even as they threatened to make him deaf with their pounding, he spoke,

“You love me?”

Rose nodded, and her eyes filled with tears.

“I meant it. Since ‘Run,’ I think. Maybe before. I guess your pretty Victorian self was before I met you.”

The Doctor couldn’t resist the urge to tease her,

“’Pretty?’ I thought I was pretty now?”

Rose hiccupped a giggle, and his hearts clenched in response,

“Oh you are. But the hair, and the waistcoat, so posh.”

“I’ll have you know Rose Tyler, I could grow my hair out anytime. I just keep it this length because it’s sticky-uppier like this.”

Rose nodded, and captured her bottom lip between her teeth, giving him the radical idea of attempting to kiss her, to see if she still tasted like his long ago returned memory recalled.

“It is a good length.”

She reached up a hand, slowly, in case he decided to duck away; ( _he didn’t_ ,) and gently pushed her fingers through the loose strands just behind his ear. He might have shivered, or purred, but either way, his arms wrapped around her and he was moving to kiss her in an instant.

Before she could blink, she had an armful of repentant time lord, and he was flipping her around to hold her above him while he sat on the jump seat.

“This is new.”

Rose gasped out when he pulled back for air, mostly to her benefit considering his respiratory bypass.

“Figured it’s about time I show you how much I love you, before I go and do something stupid again trying to save the world. I said it once, I’ll say it again. I love you. Next time, if it comes between saving the world and losing you, I’ll try to find a way to keep you both.”

Rose pulled him close again, and as their lips met, she decided she’d forgiven him and he’d finally admitted his feelings, so now it was time to enjoy their little moment of peace.

That was, until Mickey barged in and informed them he’d like off the bloody space ship, if they were going to be doing this all the time now.

The Doctor shoved a hand over a lever as Rose flicked a switch, and they were back on their way through the vortex, prepared for any adventure or challenge the universe threw at them.

***

**END**

**Author's Note:**

> there's always room for more, especially since i had eight mention Gallifrey, and Rose is naturally quite curious. maybe during a quiet and calm moment after ROTC/AOS with Mickey being gone, she brings it up? who knows.


End file.
